Fix-its

[Palmerston5]

No, it really is true. I called 3 electricians the other week, they each said they were busy, but then that they would call me 'early next week' to arrange an estimate. Never heard back from any of them (I didn't bother chasing, as I thought if they couldn't behave decently it wasn't worth it). THe only bit that's fiction above is as to what they would actually say if they came round, which I confess is based on bitter experience with plumbers, rather than electricians.

I think it's probably London. I am sure there are lots of extremely good electricians who do behave well and do excellent work. I just seem to have a lot of difficulty finding them.

 

[masona]

In my own business dealings I always turn up and always on time (or else I call and rearrange in advance).

I do too and always let the clients know whatever the reason. My uncle live in London NW8 and it's a nightmare trying to get any trademans pass his front door, so he now rely on me doing the job which take me 2 hrs to get there.

 

[breezer]

not surprsied if he lives in St Johns wood

 

[masona]

not surprsied if he lives in St Johns wood

That's where I was born, can't afford to live there now

 

[breezer]

spiffing, top ho, what?

 

[supersparks]

No, it really is true. I called 3 electricians the other week, they each said they were busy, but then that they would call me 'early next week' to arrange an estimate. Never heard back from any of them (I didn't bother chasing, as I thought if they couldn't behave decently it wasn't worth it). THe only bit that's fiction above is as to what they would actually say if they came round, which I confess is based on bitter experience with plumbers, rather than electricians.

I think it's probably London. I am sure there are lots of extremely good electricians who do behave well and do excellent work. I just seem to have a lot of difficulty finding them.

where abouts in london

 

[Damocles]

well ding, was just observing on your examples. Already mentioned tyres. I thing you might also find that the NHS on your behalf is very keen to employ the cheapest surgeons it can get. What they refuse to do is tell you whether the one you get is brilliant, or has the biggest death rate in the country.

It is not at all unknown for surgeons to start operating outside their areas of expertise. A nurse I know once told me a story about the best surgeon in the hospital. Only, despite his excellent results, it was discovered that he was not actually qualified. So he was sacked. And on the other hand, I recall stories which got into the news about surgeons who were thoroughly qualified but still useless at what they were doing and killing people like flies. Anyone out there has exactly the same problem with an electrician out of the yellow pages as they do with an NHS. No way at all to tell if they are good or bad.

Then there's cost. Even ignoring rip-off merchants, there are quite a few people out there who can not afford what might be the going rate for a job. There is quite a lot of talk about safety here. But safety and professionalism allways come at a price. So of course people DIY, because they can not afford an alternative. And if this was America, yes I expect they do ask the local chippie for medical advice. If he happens to be a mate... because doctors are not free over there.

I'm not talking about people taking calculated risks either. Not in the sense of thoroughly understanding the risks. Just in the sense of making a choice between getting the car serviced and MOTd, paying the gas bill, going out somewhere, doing evening classes, anything you care to name. Given a choice of having no RCD or no brakes on the car, I know exactly which one I would choose to get fixed. And it is not the RCD.

 

[AdamW]

In my own business dealings I always turn up and always on time (or else I call and rearrange in advance).

I do too

Ah, you see the thing is, by being such regular and avid posters on a DIY forum, you have proven that you obviously have great pride in your chosen fields, and wish to impart knowledge and advice on others to allow them to take pride in their DIY work. The kind of people who if they say they will be somewhere, will be there.

However there are people who work a trade as some kind of get-rich-quick scheme. All they want to do is the quick, nice, well-paying jobs. Like the plumber my parents had who showed up in his spanking new Jag, and quoted for everything in their shower-room refit except replacing the toilet, because he didn't like getting messy. All for £4K labour, +VAT. Don't let the door hit you on the way out, bub. People like that will brush you off if a bigger better job comes along, and they don't care if they have mucked you about and messed up your schedule. We all want lots of money and the nice jobs, but a bit of courtesy isn't difficult. People won't be happy if you cancel on them, but at least they know.

My tradesman-showing-up failure rate is currently 33%. The one guy who didn't show up, turned out to be a good thing. He was a builder-turned-plasterer recommended by a friend who had a load of work done. So I hired him in (he was happy with my description of the job to quote over the phone, and it wasn't a cheap quote either!). Anyway, when I later saw the quality of his work at my friends' house I thought it wasn't bad, but could have been better. I then took a wrong turn, and ended up by coincidence, outside his house (he had a sign up). The state of it. Surrounded by really nice houses, his was a dump. Only problem was, him not showing up put me behind my schedule and I got bogged down at work. I ran out of warm weather, I lost motivation and I'm still finishing the so**ing bathroom now! I don't bear a grudge, him not showing up meant I found a much better plasterer who will be getting future work from me!

 

[AdamW]

Perhaps I should contribute something more relevant

I think people get upset when they come on here, when they think "I'll get a job done myself, it will be cheap." So they think. New double socket, costs about £2 in the shed. I'll install one of them. £2, nice cheap job. Easy too.

So they come on here and say "So how do I do I install a new plug socket 6 inches from the old one? Here is a diagram of what I want to do.". They then hear:

"Take your drill (£££). Drill a few holes marking the edge of the pattress box (£££). Then take an electricians bolster (£££), and your club hammer (£££) and cut out a hole. Then take your angle grinder (£££) and chase out channels for the cable (£££). Wire it all up, then plaster over the top and you're good to go."

Obviously that is simplified, but it demonstrates how what seems to be a simple job turns into a £60+ job because they didn't take into account that they will need the right tools, and the associated materials to install that £2 socket. So they then either get pi**ed off and don't bother, or start to think "How can I do this more cheaply?"

Many jobs are like this. I am pondering the idea of a new kitchen. To buy the carcasses is cheap. But if you sit down and add it all up, doors, surfaces, tiles, draw mechanisms, plinths, flooring, paint, extractor, new wiring, new plumbing etc. etc., it soon mounts up.

Perhaps people are just too optimistic when they are pricing a job? There was a woman on Property Ladder this week (from High Wycombe no less Eddie!) who budgeted £150 for a rewire on her project house in Wales... Presumably because £150 just about buys a CU and a few sockets, and she was getting her mate to do the labour for free.

 

[Damocles]

Perhaps, but you are forgetting that the tools required to chop a hole in a wall are not just used for rewiring. Lots of people do have these things. Particularly the ones who are generally interested in DIY.

If you really are starting from scratch, then everything under the sun is available at your local boot fair for 10p if you wait long enough.

 

[AdamW]

Perhaps, but you are forgetting that the tools required to chop a hole in a wall are not just used for rewiring. Lots of people do have these things. Particularly the ones who are generally interested in DIY.

Indeed, most people (I would think) have a drill or at least access to a drill. But, relatively few people have bolsters and club hammers, and fewer still have angle grinders. It's when you start telling someone they need to buy new tools, over what they already have, to do a simple job, or when they find they need more materials than they thought.